Hope: Salvation of grace comes with important responsibilities (“Therefore”). Peter points out the first[1] of these duties in terms of our hope.[2] We are to put our hope on future grace, the favor of God we will experience at Christ’s coming (“the revelation of Jesus Christ”).[3] He also adds how we are to hope: “completely”, that is, “fully” and “without reserve”. We are to fix our gaze on the horizon of Christ’s coming and expect the best to arrive then. We are to live in the future and project our thoughts beyond this age unto eternity.

Prerequisites: There are prerequisites to properly fixing our hope on future grace, namely, readiness (“having prepared”) and alertness (“sober”) of mind. Readiness is envisioned with the girding up of one’s loins[4] as if preparing for battle. The design of the Roman toga rendered physical action impossible without first tucking in the long flowing robe into the belt about the waist. Our minds are like these long flowing garments, which if left unchecked renders a person incapable of any serious fixation of hope. We must first decidedly be resolved to anchor our thoughts in the Word of God. The second prerequisite is alertness, as opposed to inebriation. This is an ongoing action (a present participle) that ensures we will not loosen our biblical moorings. We shun all intoxicants that benumb a biblical mindset and embrace what will advance it.

[1] Commands for holiness (1:15), the fear of God (1:7) and love of the brethren (1:22) follow afterwards.

[2] LEB’s translation (“Therefore, when you have prepared your minds for action by being self-controlled, put your hope completely in the grace…”) properly shows that the main imperative of 1:13 is about our hope. The two participles that precede the main imperative describe the prerequisites of the central command.

[3] The grace is that particular (articular in Greek) favor given to us when Jesus returns when we will be glorified (Phil. 3:20-21; 1 John 3:2) with “praise and glory and honor” (1:7) and “exultation” (4:13). We have not yet received all of the grace/favor of God. There’s more to come: Isaiah 11:2-5; Matt. 5:8; 1 Cor. 15:52-54; 2 Cor. 5:6-8; 2 Pet. 1:19; 3:13; Rev. 7:15; Rev. 21:4, 23; 22:3.

[4] Literally, “gird up the loins of your mind” (NKJV), much like the English expression: “roll up your sleeves.”